Boston Custer
Encyclopedia
Boston Custer was the youngest brother of U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

 George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...

 and two-time Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

 recipient Captain Thomas Custer
Thomas Custer
Thomas Ward Custer was a United States Army officer and two-time recipient of the Medal of Honor for bravery during the American Civil War...

. He was killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...

 along with these two brothers.

Early life

Boston Custer was born in New Rumley, Ohio
New Rumley, Ohio
New Rumley is an unincorporated community in central Rumley Township, Harrison County, Ohio, United States. It is famous for being the birthplace of George Armstrong Custer....

, one of five children born to Emanuel Henry Custer and Maria Ward Fitzpatrick Custer. In 1863, the family left Ohio and moved to Monroe, Michigan
Monroe, Michigan
Monroe is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 20,733 at the 2010 census. It is the largest city and county seat of Monroe County. The city is bordered on the south by Monroe Charter Township, but both are politically independent. The city is located approximately 14 miles ...

. His older brother Nevin became a farmer due to asthma and rheumatism, while George and Tom became military officers in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. Boston Custer had been unable to officially join the Army due to poor health.

Battle

A civilian contractor, he served as forage master for his brother's U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment
U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment
The 7th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army Cavalry Regiment, whose lineage traces back to the mid-19th century. Its official nickname is "Garryowen," in honor of the Irish air Garryowen that was adopted as its march tune....

 in the 1874 Black Hills
Black Hills
The Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, USA. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of...

 expedition. He was employed as a guide, forager, packer and scout for the regiment for the 1876 expedition against the Lakota Indians. On June 25, 1876, along with his 18-year-old nephew Henry Armstrong "Autie" Reed
Henry Armstrong Reed
Henry Armstrong Reed was the nephew of George Armstrong Custer, Thomas Custer, and Boston Custer. Although not an official soldier, he was killed along with them at the Battle of the Little Bighorn at the age of 18....

, Boston Custer was with the pack train at the rear of Custer's troops. Hearing from a messenger that Lt. Col.
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...

 Custer had requested ammunition for an impending fight, they quickly left the pack train. The pair passed by Frederick Benteen
Frederick Benteen
Frederick William Benteen was a military officer during the American Civil War and then during the Black Hills War against the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne. He is notable for being in command of a battalion of the 7th U. S...

's detachment and joined Custer's main column as it moved into position to attack a sprawling Indian village along the Little Big Horn River. Had he stayed with the pack train where he was assigned, Boston Custer might have survived the battle.

Death

However, like his brothers and nephew, Boston was killed at the area known as "Last Stand Hill." A marble marker commemorates the approximate place where his body was found and identified. Though originally buried on the battlefield, Autie Reed's and Boston Custer's remains were exhumed, the only exceptions to the rule that only commissioned officers would be shipped home for reburial. They were reinterred January 8, 1878, at Woodland Cemetery
Woodland Cemetery (Monroe, Michigan)
Woodland Cemetery, formerly known as Grove Cemetery and Woodlawn Cemetery, is a public, city-owned cemetery located at 428 Jerome Street in southeast Monroe, Michigan. It occupies 10 acres and contains over 6,500 graves. Founded in 1810, it is one of Michigan’s oldest public cemeteries...

 in Monroe, Michigan, near today's Monroe County, Michigan
Monroe County, Michigan
Monroe County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the 2010 population is 152,021. The largest city and county seat is Monroe. The U.S. Census Bureau defines all of Monroe County as conterminous with the Monroe Metropolitan Area...

 Museum.

Film

Boston Custer was portrayed by actor Patrick Johnston
Patrick Johnston
Patrick Johnston may refer to:*Patrick Johnston , Canadian administrator and former politician*Patrick Johnston , former Democratic state legislator in the State of California...

 in the biopic Son of the Morning Star
Son of the Morning Star
Son of the Morning Star is a 1984 non-fiction book on the subject of George Armstrong Custer, with the subtitle 'Custer and the Little Bighorn'. A 1991 television film was based on the book. Both the book and the film chronicle the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the personalities involved, and the...

.

External links

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